Cylinder-gripper and shoo-fly actuating mechanism



June 7, 1938.

J. SINKOYITZ ET AL ,119,754 CYLINDER GRIPPER AND SHOO-FLY ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

THE/I? ATTORNEYS Mum June 7, 1938. J. SINKOVITZ ET AL CYLINDER GRIPPE'R AND SHOO-FLY AQTUATING MECHANISM Filed Apri1 1, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 THE/R ATTORNEYS FLY ACTUATING- MECHANISM June 7, 1938.

J. SINKOVITZ El AL CYLINDER GRIPPER AND SHOO a Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 1, 1937 THE/F? ATTORNEYS Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATES CYLINDER-GRIPPER AND SHOO-FLY ACTU- ATING MECHANISM Joseph Sinkovitz and August A. Saul, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Miller Printing Machinery 00., Pittsburgh, Pa., sylvania a corporation of Penn- Application April 1, 1937, Serial No. 134,344

12 Claims.

Our invention pertains to mechanism for actuating the cylinder grippers and the shoo-flies of cylinder printing presses, especially (though not necessarily) cylinder printing presses of the two-color type, employing two cylinders.

In presses of the characterjust mentioned, the impression cylinders normally occupy a depressed position in which the sheets thereon are contacted by printing forms carried by the type-bed. But means are provided whereby either of the cylinders can be slightly raised when for some reason (such as the absence of a sheet thereon) it is not desirable that such cylinder occupy its normal depressed position. This raising of either or both of the cylinders can be effected either automatically or manually by any one of a number of instrumentalities well known in the art. Cylinder grippers retain the sheet on each cylinder during oneof the two revolutions which the must be opened, after such revolution, to permit the delivery of the sheet from the cylinder. Shoo-flies are also provided, for the purpose of raising the leading edge of the sheet from the cylinder when the grippers are opened, thereby to facilitate delivery ofthe sheet. These shooflies are actuated after each printing revolution of the cylinder substantially coincidently with the opening of the grippers. A common mode of thus opening the grippers and raising the shoofiies is by means of what we may term a fixed cam (since it is fixed during the period ofits actual operation) with which engage rollers associated with the gripper mechanism and the shoo-fly mechanism, respectively, these mechanisms being carried by the rotating cylinder.

The fixed cam is designed and located, of course, for the most efiicient operation when the cylinder is in its depressed, printing position. When the cylinder is raised, even though the raising be slight, the rollers of the gripper and shoofly mechanism will not make their engagement with the fixed cam with entire precision and smoothness, with the result that, although the grippers and Shoo-flies will still perform their required functions, their operation will be noisy and accompanied by undue wear. This may be markedly detrimental,-particularly in the case of a two-color press. In such a press it frequently becomes desirable to print a single color. In that case the sheet would usually be printed on the first cylinder, then carried to the second cylinder by means of the usual transfer cylinder, and then allowed to travel round with the second cylinder, without any printing being done,

cylinder makes for each cycle of the press, and

afterwards being delivered from the second cylin- I der. In this case the second cylinder would run continuously, throughout the printing of the whole job; and it is preferable thatit run all the time in its raised position, though this has heretofore involved the disadvantage that has been mentioned. 'j

With the foregoing in view, it is a main object of our invention to improve upon mechanisms for actuating the cylinder grippers and shod-flies. We attain this object by providing means whereby the grippers and shoo-flies are actuated with equal precision and smoothness regardless of whether the cylinder be in its normal or its raised position. Other objects of the invention will appear from the following specification and the claims annexed thereto.

We have described, by way of example, in the following specification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, one form of actuating mechanism in which our invention may be embodied. However, the invention may be embodied in other forms,and changes madein the particular form described and shown, without exceeding the scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

v Fig. 1 is a partially diagrammatic view, with portions in section, of a two-color cylinder printing press showing part of the means for actuating the cylinder-grippers and shoo-fiies.

Fig. 2 is an end View of the.secondcylinden-the cylinder being shown as raisedand in the position of-rotation wherein the grippers are about to. open and the shoo-fiies to raise. In this View a fixed cam, carried by. the press-frame, is shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the cylinder shown as in its depressed, operating, position and in a position of rotation where the grippers have just opened and the Shoo-flies have raised. I

Fig. 4 is a front View of the gripper-shaft lever and the coupling associated therewith.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the same, as seen-from the line VV'of Fig. 4. 7

Fig. 6 is a plan, as seen from the line VI.VI of Fig. 4.

Referring now to Fig. 1, 0. represents the first cylinder of a two-color press, to which the sheets are fed from a feed-board or the like. In the normal operation of the press, the sheets are printed on the cylinder a and then forwarded,by a transfer cylinder b,to the second cylinder, des ignatedc, where they are printed the second time. The sheets are then delivered onto a suitable delivery apparatus, which may include stripper fingers d.

It will be sufficient to consider the second cylinder, 0. This consists of substantially solid ends l0 and l I, connected by a segmental printing portion [2 along one edge of which are arranged gripper pads I 3, all of well known construction. A shaft 14 rockably journaled between the ends I l and I2 carries a plurality of spaced tumbler grippers l5 which cooperate with the pads l3, to retain the sheet, in the usual way. From the gripper shaft l4 there extends an arm l6 upon which bears a spring device ll, of common construction, which maintains the grippers l5 closed against their pads l3 except when the grippers are opened to receive a sheet (by well-known means not of importance here) or opened to deliver a sheet by the mechanisms hereinafter to be described. r

Spaced along thecylinder, between the grippers l5, are shoo-flies l8. They are mounted on a shaft l9 and normally maintained in their depressed position (in which their tips lie beneath the edge of the sheet on the cylinder) by a spring 2|]. An actuating arm 2| extends from the shaft l9 for engagement by a push rod '22 when the shoo-flies are to be actuated to raise them away from the cylinder.

In Figs. 2 and 3 there is shown the fixed cam, designated e, which performs the function of opening the grippers and raising the shoo-fiies on the occasion of the delivery of the sheet from the cylinder. This cam is mounted on the printing press frame adjacent the end ll of the cylinder, and, as is usual with such cams, is movable, axially of the cylinder, in such manner as to be in operative position during the second, or non-printing, rotation of the cylinder. but out of operative position during the first, or printing, rotation of the cylinder. Since we are here concerned with the non-printing rotation of the cylinder, during which the cam is in a stationary operative position, the cam e is appropriately referred to as ried by an arm 29 which extends from the gripper-shaft lever 34 in a direction oppositeto the arm 26. When the cam roll 25 engages the face 24, the cam roll 28 clears the face 21, and vice Versa.

In order that the gripper-shaft lever, though rotatably mounted on the gripper shaft, may actuate the latter, the following provisions are made (Figs. 4-6). A coupling 35 is. fixedly mounted on the gripper shaft adjacent the gripper-shaft lever, and. is formed with a lug 36. The gripper-shaft lever is formed with abutments 3'! and 38 (which are relatively widely separated) for engagement by one side or the other of the lug 3 6 of the coupling. The gripper-shaft lever is further formed with an arm 39, disposed in a plane axially beyond the abutments 31 and 38, which is adapted'to engage the flattened face of a pin 40 mounted in the cylinder-end I I. The. pin 40 is formed with an. extension 4|, for engagegripper shaft lever are such that, in these circumstances, the arm 39 will engage the pin. Thus the gripper-shaft lever is held in a position such that its cam rollers 25 and 28 will arrive at the cam e in correct relation with the cam-surfaces 24 and 21. Whether the roller 25 be depressed by the cam-surface 24 or the roller 28 be raised by the cam-surface 21, the effect will be the same. The abutment 31 on the gripper-shaft lever will be moved contra-clockwise, pressing against the lug 36 on the coupling 35 and moving it so as to rock the gripper shaft in a direction to open the grippers,the arm 39, of course, moving away from the pin 40.

Suitable means are provided for rocking the gripper shaft by hand when it is desired to open the grippers for purposes of make-ready and the like. In that case the grippers are opened more widely than they are for the delivery of a sheet from the cylinder. When the delivery shaft is thus manually rocked nearly through the desired distance, the lug 36 of the coupling 35 comes into engagement with the abutment 3B of the grippershaft lever, whereafter such lever participates in the rocking movement. Thus the abutment 31 moves towards the extension 4| of the pin 40 until it engages such extension and prevents further rocking movement. At this time the grippers will have reached their fully open position. When the gripper shaft is manually rocked backward, to close the grippers, the parts will return to the normal position shown in Fig. 4.

One result of the foregoing construction, including the limiting of the possible positions of the gripper-shaft lever, is that if the grippers should mistakenly be left open when the press is started, or there should occur some other accident in operation such as would materially displace the gripper-shaft lever if it were fixedly secured to the gripper shaft, the gripper-shaft lever will nevertheless enter the race between the surfaces 24 and 21 of the cam 6, so that no wreck would occur.

When the cylinder is raised, the roll 25, in engaging the face 24, causes the gripper shaft to be rocked contra-clockwise, whereby the grippers are opened, in the manner that has been described, against the action of the spring device I1. When the cylinder is depressed, the roll 28. in engaging the face 21, likewise causes the gripper shaft to be rocked contra-clockwise, with a like result. Each of the cam-faces 24 and 2'! can, of course, be formed with precision; so that the operation of opening the grippers is performed correctly and with smoothness, regardless of whether the cylinder is raised or depressed.

For raising the shoo-flies, the cam e is formed with a downwardly extending, approximately vertical leg 30 formed with a face 3| for engagement by a cam roll 32 carried by one arm of a bell-crank lever 33. The other arm of the bellcrank lever is connected with the push-rod 22 described above. The configuration of the face 3| is such that when it is engaged by the roll 32, the push-rod will be moved upward, to engage against the actuating arm 2| described above and thereby raise the shoo-flies.

Because of the approximately vertical disposition of the cam-face 3|, substantially coinciding with the plane of movement of the cylinder in being raised or depressed, the difference in the actuating of the shoe-flies, occasioned by the raising of the cylinder, is so slight as to be neg-ligible.

By our invention, therefore, we have provided a means for actuating the cylinder grippers and the shoo-fiies of a cylinder printing press which will operate with equal precision and smoothness regardless of whether the cylinder occupies its raised or its depressed position. This is of mate rial importance, and especially so where the cylinder is the second cylinder of a two-color press. 7

Having thus fully described our said invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a cylinder printing press, the combination with an impression cylinder, a printing member normally cooperating therewith, means for moving said cylinder into and out of cooperative relation with said printing member, and a cylinder gripper, of a cam for opening said gripper to permit delivery of a sheet, said cam having a surface for operation when said cylinder is in cooperative position with respect to said printing member and a second surface for operation when said cylinder is out of cooperative position with respect to said printing member.

2. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a bed reciprocating adjacent the cylinder, said cylinder having grippers carried on a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, of a lever on said shaft, and relatively fixed cam means for tilting said lever to rock said shaft, said means having a surface fortilting the lever when the cylinder is in one position relative to the bed, and another surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in another position.

3. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a bed reciprocating adjacent the cylinder, said cylinder having grippers carried on a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, of a lever on said shaft, and relatively fixed cam means for tilting said lever to rock said shaft, said means having a surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in one position relative tothe bed and another surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in another position, said surfaces being spaced apart radially of the cylinder.

4. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a bed reciprocating adjacent the cylinder, said cylinder having grippers carried on a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, of a lever on said shaft, and relatively fixed cam means for tilting said lever to rock said shaft, said means having a surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in one position relative to the bed and another surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in another position, said lever being rotatable on said shaft, and means whereby angular movement of the lever effects rotation of the shaft.

5. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a bed reciprocating adjacent the cylinder, said cylinder having grippers carried on a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, of a lever on said shaft, relatively fixed cam means for tilting said lever to rock said shaft, said means having a surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in one position relative to the bed and another surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in another position, said lever being rotatable on said shaft, and means secured to the shaft adapted to be actuated on angular movement of said lever.

6'. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a bed reciprocating adjacent the cylinder, said cylinder having grippers carried on a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, of a lever on said shaft having arms extending in substantially opposite directions radially of the shaft, a relatively fixed interior cam'adapted to cooperate withone end 7 v of the lever when the cylinder is in one position, and a relatively fixed exterior cam adapted to cooperate with the other end of the lever when the cylinder is in another position. '7. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a bed reciprocating adjacent the cylinder, said cylinder having grippers carried on a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, of a lever on said shaft, relatively fixed cam means for tilting said lever to rock said shaft, said means having a surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in oneposition relative to the bed and another surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in another position, said lever being rotatable'on said shaft, means secured to the shaft'adapted to be actuated on angular movement of I said lever, and means for limiting rotation of said lever, the shaft being free for continued rotation after engagement of said limiting means by said lever.

8. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a bed reciprocating adjacent the cylinder, said cylinder having grippers carried on a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, of a lever on said shaft,

relatively fixed cam means for tilting said lever to rock said shaft, said means having a surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in one position relative to the bed and another surface for tilting the lever when the cylinder is in another position, said lever being rotatable on said shaft, means secured to the shaft adapted tobe actuated on angular movement of said lever, means normally urging said shaft in one direction, and means limiting movement of the lever in the other direction whereby said lever is always maintained in cooperative'relation with said cam means, said shaft being free for continued rotation after the lever has engaged said limiting means.

9. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a bed reciprocating adjacent the cylinder, said cylinder having grippers carried on a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, of a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on said shaft, relatively fixed cam means having separate surfaces adapted to cooperate respectively with the ends of the lever when said cylinder is in different positions, a coupling secured to said shaft, and means whereby angular movement of the lever turns the cou pling and shaft.

10. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a type bed cooperating therewith, of shoe flies secured to a common shaft journale'd in the cylinder, and means for actuating said shaft including a relatively fixed cam having a face extending in the general direction of movement of the cylinder whereby the'rotation of said shaft caused by said cam is substantially the same regardless of the position of the cylinder.

11. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a type bed cooperating therewith, of shoo flies secured to a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, and means for actuating said shaft including a relatively fixed cam, an actuating arm on said shaft, a push rod engaging said arm and lever adapted to engage said cam for actuating said rod, said lever being so spaced circumferentially of the cylinder from said shaft that at the instant the lever engages the cam, the movement of the lever caused by the rotation of the cylinder is in substantially the same general direction as the movement of the cylinder toward and from the bed whereby the resulting operation of the shoofiies is substantially the same regardless of the actual position of the cylinder relative to the bed.

12. The combination with a press cylinder adapted to move toward and away from a type bed cooperating therewith, of shoo flies secured to a common shaft journaled in the cylinder, means normally tending to turn said shaft in one direction but permitting manual rotation of the shaft in the other direction, and means for automatically rotating said shaft in said other direction on rotation of said cylinder including a relatively fixed cam having a face extending in the general direction of movement of the cylinder whereby the rotation of said shaft caused by said cam is substantially the same regardless of the position of the cylinder.

JOSEPH SINKOVITZ. AUGUST A. SAUL. 

